Peeping Tom

PEEPING TOM (MOVIE)
20th Century Fox

Original release: May 16th, 1960
Running time: 101 minutes

Director: Michael Powell
Writer: Leo Marks

Cast: Karlheinz Böhm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley

Did you ever have the feeling you were being watched? It’s unnerving, even if you aren’t actually being watched. Maybe it’s on the way home, along a dark path or through an alley. Wherever it is, it’s not a nice feeling and more often than not, it’s just our mind playing tricks on us. There’s no one really there.

However, what if there was someone there and not just looking through your window, but actually filming you? What kind of perverse fantasies might you unwillingly be cast in? Peeping Tom was one of the most controversial films ever made in Britain, but today it’s hailed as a masterpiece in psychological terror.

The film stars Karlheinz Böhm as Mark Lewis, a mild-mannered young man who works by day as a focus-puller in a film studio and photographer for a seedy Soho newsagent. At night he walks the streets of London with his camera looking for victims to fulfil his obsession – filming the face of fear, moments before death.

The first victim we see is a prostitute. As Mark advances toward her with his camera hidden inside his coat, we see from the camera’s point of view and watch as he follows her into the house. As she settles down on the bed, she sees something and begins to panic, her face is contorted in a scream and we realise we’re watching his footage with him in his den at home.

Although dubbed “the British Psycho”, Peeping Tom was released a few months prior to Hitchcock’s Psycho but it performed terribly and essentially ruined Powell’s career. By the 1970’s though it picked up a cult following which included Martin Scorsese who has always talked very favourably about it, along with Fellini’s 8½,

This is certainly true about Peeping Tom. There’s much of Powell in the movie, not just in terms of his ideas and creativity in making the film, but also physically. The cameras shown in Mark’s room include Powell’s very first camera, a hand operated Eyemo, made by Bell which he won in a competition.

The director also makes a cameo appearance, playing Mark’s father, Prof. A.N. Lewis, who is seen in an old home movie. Powell also cast his real-life son, Columba Powell, as little Mark and his wife Frankie Reidy plays the lifeless mother lying on the bed in another one of Mark’s home movies.

It’s a peculiar movie. One which invites us to share Mark’s fetish of voyeurism as he constantly searches for that “kick” which escapes him in his everyday life.

It has a dirty feel to it with its hues of red; it’s almost intoxicating to look at and we can’t help but be drawn into his world. It’s fascinating the way it works, at first we’re repelled by the idea of what he’s doing but by the end, we too are voyeurs searching for our own kicks.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

MOVIE CLASSICS

WRITE FOR STATIC MASS!

If you are passionate not only about watching movies but also about writing, we would love to hear from you!

Please get in touch and let us know whether you have a favorite genre, an interest for example in World Cinema, and how often you could write reviews and/or features for us.

You can as well send us your features and reviews right away. We look forward to receiving articles between 700 and 1,500 words, submitted as a Word document.

You can find more information here.

Please also read our Terms & Conditions.

— Founder & Editor in Chief —
Patrick Samuel

— Editor in Chief & Webmaster —
Jonahh Oestreich

— Contributing Editors —
Arpad Lukacs • Ben Nicholson
John Bleasdale • Paul Bullock
Paul Costello

— Authors & Correspondents —
Alison Devlin • Andrew Latimer
Barbara Diril • Ben Cook
Colin Williamson • Dipesh Parmar
Ian Roberts • Jack Murphy
James Arden • Jamie Suckley
Kyle Barrett • Max Lalanne
Nandini Godara • Pete Turner
Richa Rudola • Robert Bright
Rohan Mohmand • Thomas Grieve

— Guest Writers —
Danny Byrne • Joaquin Villalobos
Lauren Mannion • Lesley Coffin
Lito Velasco • Mark Patton
Norman Buckley • Toby C Prior
Tyson James Yates • V.Venkateshwaran

STAY IN TOUCH!

Static Mass Emporium is a UK-based independent film journal which looks at a broad range of work from the industry.

With research grounded in modern cinema, film theory, sociology, history and filmosophy, our approach is to explore the essence of film.

We are a nonprofit publication free of advertising — sustained entirely by its readers, fans and supporters. Read more about us here.